Year E3029

Beck

"Ray!" I yelled down the dark tunnel, watching her walk behind the guard with my daughter.

Ocea was not the young girl I once knew. She grew into a beautiful lady and a mirror reflection of her mother. My life had been in darkness for years. Like a black hole, I had failed as a dad.

A tear dropped from my eyes. I fell into the chilly dirt. I gripped the papers scattered around me, the drawings of how I saw Ocea on our last day, and of Kat and her sunshine smile.

✧✧✧

"Kitty, please forgive me," I whispered, cradling her.

Her limp body shook my core as I ran between the buildings, hearing the bombs in the distance. Guns fired around me in the houses while the Men of Suits took over the city we loved, the city we grew into a family.

The fence stood in the distance as I eyed the blood tree. A woman cried from a side alley before walking aimlessly beside me. Her eyes glazed over as blood dripped from her head, clogging it with chunks of her hair. She staggered away, unfazed by me.

I ran, seeing a MOS grab her. My heart stung without helping the hurt woman, but Kat needed me. She will not become a body on the street that Men of Suits clean up with a dumpster beetle.

Crouching near the fence, I set Kat on the ground and pulled at the metal wire. With no movement, I yelled internally. Kat's blood on my hands dried as I froze, feeling the panic sink in.

"Here," a deep voice said, cutting the fence, and the chief from the Saviors knelt before me and cleaned my hands. "Beck, right?"

"Yes," I replied. "I thought you left with my—"

He glanced around at his soldiers. "So she is your daughter," he whispered. "Miracle."

"Please don't tell anyone," I said, feeling I messed up.

"I won't," he replied. "The girl is at a safe house right now. Let me help you with your wife and bring you to her."

I nodded and grabbed Kat from the ground. We crawled between the broken wire and raced to the blood tree. I fell in love with Kat while this tree grew, reflecting my life with her.

Laying Kat's dead body at the base of the tree, I hugged her chest, wishing for a tiny beat. A small tear escaped before I pulled at the blood roots, needing the tree to take Kat's body.

"Thank you, Chester," I said while he knelt beside me.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. We watched the blood roots slither toward Kat and wrap the bleeding snakes around her ankle. It froze while a bomb near us shook the ground. The vine quickly tucked back into the ground, and branches vibrated, raining leaves on us.

"No," I whispered, placing my palms on Kat. "Please, please, please."

A vast stomp bounced the lorna plants while a female colossus stumbled and landed on the ground. The Savior soldiers aimed their guns at her while she glanced behind her in fear. Her yellowish-red eyes met mine as her red hair blew around her shoulders.

"Stop!" I yelled, standing quickly and pulling one gun down. "This is Queen Ada."

Chief Chester stood in amazement. He dragged his cap off his head with a low whistle.

Ada's confused expression relaxed. "Beck?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. "You need to get out of here," she whispered. "They are after me and killed most of the tribe."

The Savior held their guns up, aiming them at the plants, waiting for someone to run at them. Ada cupped her mouth while tears streamed down her cheeks. Her shaky hands reached for Kat's dead body below the blood tree.

"No, Kat," Ada cried, her eyes turned to anger. "Let me bring her to the heaven of rocks."

Rustling in the grass echoed around us. I glanced at Chester, grabbing his shoulder. "Please leave now and protect Ocea. Leave now."

Chester nodded, knowing he needed to get the innocents to a safe place and couldn't get caught there. He whistled and pointed toward the fence before disappearing into the plants.

I raced to Kat and picked her up. "Take her, now. I will slow down the Men of Suits."

"But."

"No!" I yelled, while Ada scooped Kat from my arms. "Thank you."

Ada tucked Kat into her chest, like a doll tiny in her arms. The rustling of the plants had Ada darting away and jumping the river.

"Hands up!" a MOS yelled.

I knelt on the ground with my hands up. They scanned my forehead as I watched Chester in the distance, climbing the fence back into the city. He paused on the top, cupping his hand to his heart. I placed my palm on my chest, mirroring him before he leaped and ran away.

"Let the leader know we have found him." The Men of Suits glanced at me in awe.

✧✧✧

"Sir," a voice in the distance echoed like they were underwater. "Sir," he said again, patting my shoulder as I cupped my face into my palms. "We are the Saviors and here to help."

"What?" I glanced up with blurry eyes at a bold man, his face familiar but older. "I know you."

The guy tilted his head, scrunching his eyes. A scream down the tunnel had me looking at my cage door open for the first time in years. All the cages opened while the Saviors escorted everyone to freedom.

"Beck?" the man asked, leaning closer while staying crouched. "It's me, Chief Chester. I thought they killed you."

I stood in a panic, pulling at my hair. "Ocea!" I yelled, eyeing Chester. "She had her. Is she okay?"

"Yes," Chester replied with a smile. "She is okay and grew up to be amazing." He pointed around, not really at anything. "Ocea had figured out all this with her friends and even found the chip removal."

I smiled, and a happy tear danced down my cheek. Years of darkness might have a light at the end, a glow my daughter created.

"What about the memories?" I asked.

"She is the answer to that, too," a voice answered from outside the cage.

Chester and I turned to see a man in a MOS uniform. His eyes glanced at me with familiarity, an expression he hadn't acknowledged for years since being chipped. He had been a robot for as long as Ray trapped me.

"Rob," I said, stepping out of the cage. "How?"

Rob smiled with an exhale. "Her fire," he replied, eyeing Chester. "The fire of a half-safforian, half-human is the key to returning the memories. That's why the Men of Suits had been hunting them down."

I watched the shadows of everyone leaving the tunnels. "Where is Ocea?" Glancing at Chester. "More importantly, where is the leader? Where is Ray?"

"Ocea is helping everyone remove chips, and the leader locked herself into a room."

"Can you take us to Ray?" I questioned, ready to get my life back.

"Let's go." Chester gestured down the dark tunnel before running.

Rob and I looked at one another before following Chester. We didn't jog far before the door with a red light above blinking caught my eye. Chester slowed down while Rob passed him. He stopped before the door, knocking quietly.

"Ray," Rob said without anger in his voice. "It's me. Let me in."

The fogged-over glass door showed Ray's shadow pacing in the office. She stopped and listened to Rob's voice before whispering to herself. Chester's confused expression caused me to place my ear to the door.

"We can trust him," Ray said, talking to herself. "Why are you always questioning my judgment?"

Rob leaned his ear to the door. "She's talking to herself again."

Ray neared the door. "Dad, I should let him in." She jumped away. "He loves me. I know it."

"Been seeing our dead dad," I said to Chester.

"Probably from the brain injury." Rob knocked on the door again. "Ray, please let me in."

She ran to the door and slammed her fist into the glass. We fell back from the surprise, and she opened the door slowly, looking at us on the tile floor. Ray bobbed her eyes around, listening to the chaos above.

"It's over, Ray," I said, standing slowly. "Give yourself up."

"No!" she yelled, pointing at Rob. "You lied to me."

Rob jumped to his feet. "No, I didn't. I'm not with them." He moved closer to her with his palms up. "Trust me."

Ray eyed his hand and slowly smiled at him. "Told you," she said to nobody behind her.

Rob cupped his hand with hers, and I let out a breath. Her expression shifted to evil and hit Rob's arm. He struggled while holding the spot. Ray seized behind Rob and placed a gun to his chest. He removed his palm, and the poisonous bee flew by my face as black vines rushed up his arm to his neck.

"We will not let you take over!" Ray yelled. "My father and I have been working on this for our lives, and nobody will stop us!"

Chester pointed his gun at her, but she shoved hers deeper into Rob's chest while hiding behind him. I showed her my palms, hoping she would let Rob go.

"Ray, let him go." I stepped closer, which caused her to stick her finger into the bee sting, sending screams from Rob. "Stop!"

Rob's complexion drained of color as his eyes glazed over in black. He staggered in her arms, weak. His mouth opened while dark ooze poured out.

"Tell Ocea I said thank you," Rob said, with splatters of black blood slipping from his mouth.

He gripped the gun and overpowered Ray for a tiny moment. The gun went off, sending a bullet through Rob's chest and hitting Ray between the ribs. They both dropped while everything went silent after the loud gunshot. Chester raced to them and checked their pulse.

"Dead." His eyes glanced at me with relief but sadness for Rob. "Both are gone."

I knelt in the blackened blood, shaky hands touching Ray's pale neck. Her eyes closed while the mask shattered on the ground in her hair. Touching her neck, I closed my eyes and exhaled in comfort, sensing no pulse.

✧✧✧

The silent walk to the levels above with chaos and the Saviors collecting all the MOS into locked rooms had my mind spinning. Everything was over for the Men of Suits. Safforia could slowly go back to normal.

Chester opened a door, and a white light shined into the red-blinking hallway. I stepped into the space as someone removed the chips one by one at a table. The line had MOS with upset faces, but the next line had tearful safforians and humans mourning what they had done while chipped.

"Dad?" a sweet voice said, causing me to glance.

Her purple hair pulled back into a ponytail, making her eyes pop. Her bright smile beamed at me. She raced from the stool she sat on while burning memories back into the victims. The chair fell over as she jumped into my arms, crying.

"Ocea," I wailed, squeezing her tight. "I'm so sorry. I love you so much."

"I know," she whisper-cried back. "I love you, dad."

I pulled away to see her face, the cheekbones of Kat, and the smile of my mother, a grown woman. She cleared the tears from her cheek and beamed.

Glancing at the crowd behind her, they all watched, but a young man with a white cloth around his chest walked into the room. His brown hair was curly, like the last time I saw him.

"Thomas?" I questioned, causing Ocea to spin around with shock and race toward him.

A green safforian pointed at Thomas, knowing him. "There's our man!" he yelled, stepping in front of Ocea before she could reach Thomas.

"Out of the way, Stopper," she said, pushing him away.

She gripped Thomas on the cheeks and kissed him. Chester wrapped his arm around my shoulder with a laugh. He patted my chest and walked away.

Thomas held his wound in pain before doing a double take at me. "Mr. Doxon?" 

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